


The Prodigal Stormtrooper

by SentinelSaber



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Banter, Drabble, Gen, Gift Fic, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, The Little Guys' Big Day Out, You guys like 'Aliens' right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23320387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentinelSaber/pseuds/SentinelSaber
Summary: Getting transferred back to a squad full of your old friends? Not too bad. Getting transferred back to Lord Ren's personal commandos for deliberately obscure reasons? Potentially very bad indeed.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	The Prodigal Stormtrooper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RaisedByCats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaisedByCats/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Two Roads: A 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Revamp](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128712) by [SentinelSaber](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentinelSaber/pseuds/SentinelSaber). 



Unlike many of the other stormtroopers she’d grown up with, Heavy was blessed with a great, murmuring ocean of inner calm. She wrapped this with a love of busywork and exercise, which not only gave her a reputation as an eager and cooperative squad member, but a near-constant flood of endorphins. Able to focus on the field, she nevertheless tended to float through her ordinary routine, depending on others’ shouting orders to guide her like they were batting along a helium balloon. So she almost didn’t recognise the squad’s new scout under the helmet. Then the other woman shifted her leg up onto the ready room’s bench to tighten her greaves, and Heavy caught a glimpse of her boots. _Orthopedic._

‘TZ-1719?’ she asked, disbelieving.

The scout’s shoulders hunched and she didn’t look up. ‘Uh –‘

‘ _Taz!_ ’ Heavy shouted, slapping her gloves against her locker door. It banged, and the four other squad members – and Scout -- glared at her. ‘Guys, it’s _Taz!_ ’

‘You know I hate that nickname, Heavy,’ Scout muttered.

‘Too bad,’ Sniper said, dropping her gear bag. ‘She’s not going to stop saying it.’

‘That’s right,’ Heavy grinned. ‘I’m incorrigible.’

Sniper ignored her partner, staring at Scout. ‘What’re you doing here? You got transferred out months ago.’

‘The honeymoon is over,’ Slicer muttered from the other end of the bench.

‘Don’t eavesdrop if you don’t want to hear it,’ Sniper snapped, distracted.

‘Eavesdrop? Heavy’s audio setting is always full power.’

‘I was sure Lord Ren had just killed you,’ Fire said, creeping around the locker bank. ‘The whole ship thought so.’

Scout looked at her. ‘Who’s this?’

‘Our new fire unit,’ Slicer said. ‘She’s pretty green.’

‘Nobody in the First Order’s _green_ , Slicer,’ Sniper said. ‘Lord Ren handpicked her because she’s one of the best pilots on the Finaliser.’

‘And Lord Ren _is_ the best pilot on the Finaliser,’ Slicer crushed her. ‘Which is why Fire’s carrying the flamethrower instead. It’s idiot-proof and she’s redundant.’

Fire was backing away, but Sniper grabbed her arm.

‘Apologise,’ she warned Slicer. ‘Or I’ll tell Sarge we need more _team-building exercises._ ’

Slicer’s posture shrivelled with disgust. Stormtroopers were raised on simulator battles since they could hold a sidearm, and most developed a hearty dislike for the heavy, sweat-stained haptics, the overbright images laser-drawn directly onto the eye, and, of course, fighting until an electric shock to the base of the skull signalled your ‘death’.

‘… _I apologise._ ’

‘Fine.’ Sniper turned aggressively back on Fire. ‘I apologise, too. We’re _all_ sick and tired of listening to him suck Lord Ren’s-‘

Slicer’s armour practically rippled as he inflated with rage. ‘I _never said-_ ‘

‘-you transparent little-‘

‘-loudmouth know-it-all-‘

‘As you can see,’ Heavy said loudly over her squadmates' lapse in camaraderie. ‘We’ve had some changeups since you were gone.’

Scout tipped her head sarcastically. ‘I won’t say that you’re a mess without me, but the balance is… a little off.’

‘We ran into a booby trap on Rodia and Fire Alpha took a header off a riverbank. We pulled him out, but he was unconscious.’ Heavy shrugged awkwardly. ‘His air filtre’d split and he drowned in his own helmet before we realised what was happening.’

‘ _Like I said_ ,’ Slicer put in determinedly. ‘If it doesn’t involve fire, flamethrower units don’t know frak.’

‘ _Slicer_ ,’ Scout said, finally losing her temper. ‘You are not a part of this conversation and Fire Alpha was your _friend._ I don’t remember you needing this much attention a year ago!’

‘A year ago he wasn’t a PFC,’ Sniper snarled.

‘Slicer, why don’t you go check on Sarge’s comm,’ Heavy said, with oppressive calm. ‘Since he doesn’t seem to be hearing any of this.’

‘And we don’t _want_ to hear any of this,’ Sniper muttered.

‘Why don’t you flunkies guess why I keep it off!’ Their sergeant’s voice bellowed from the oxygen refill stations at the other end of the room. ‘Keep the reunion warm and fuzzy or I’m cutting _all_ your comms.’

Slicer snarled at them, then grabbed his equipment backpack and vanished around the lockers. Fire took the opportunity to fade away, too -- in the opposite direction.

‘ _So_ ,’ Heavy said smugly. ‘Whatcha doing back, Scout? I thought once Lord Ren took a dislike to someone, they were pretty much, uh, how shall I say it–‘

‘Dead,’ Sniper supplied.

‘Right.’

‘He didn’t _dislike_ me,’ Scout said. Her tone was repressed. ‘He only started using our squad after he assigned those Knight sidekicks of his off to their top-secret whatevers. It probably didn’t take him long to realise he wasn’t actually using any scouting maneouvers. And I think he doesn’t like keeping more people around then he has to, so I ended up in the solo department.’ She shook her head in disgust. ‘Apparently Intelligence gets all the fun stuff. I’ve spent the last six months surveying Resistance water lines and mapping their favourite terrain.’

‘Well, that’d explain why we never got another Scout,’ Sniper mused.

Scout rolled her eyes, safely hidden behind her visor.

‘Does this mean something’s changed?’ Heavy asked. ‘Is there something different about this mission?’

Scout shrugged. ‘Maybe. Maybe he needs more firepower. Maybe he needs a fresh point-of-view in his head. Maybe he’s just going to need some actual scouting this time. Whatever it is, I have a feeling he’s not going to take the time to explain it to me.’

‘You seem worried?’

‘Of course she’s worried,’ Sniper said. ‘Change is bad.’

‘Change is worrying,’ Scout corrected. ‘That doesn’t mean it’s bad. No, it’s something else.’ She hissed into her rebreather, unsure if she should go on. ‘I think this mission isn’t just another Jedi bughunt. It’s part of something bigger. Something political.’

‘Political?’ Sniper asked, startled. ‘How do you know?’

‘Because Lord Ren didn’t transfer me back,’ Scout said. ‘Grand Admiral Hux did.’

**Author's Note:**

> A drabble commission from @raisedbycats. For those of you (us) who don't recognise numbers as easily as names, TZ-1719 is Jannah's First Order ID. A small prequel to Chapter Four of my 'Two Roads' TROS rewrite. https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128712/chapters/55555840#workskin


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